


Shop of Needs

by Avanalae



Series: Harry the Information Broker [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: Arcobaleno Curse (Katekyou Hitman Reborn!), Bookshop Owner Harry Potter, Curses, Gen, Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE, Italian Mafia, Master of Death Harry Potter, Smart Harry Potter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-28
Updated: 2019-11-28
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:22:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21596821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Avanalae/pseuds/Avanalae
Summary: Harry never intended to become an information broker for the mafia when he started this little shop, but things always happen for a reason. One day he meets a baby-not-baby and he wonders.
Series: Harry the Information Broker [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1609465
Comments: 21
Kudos: 1178
Collections: Harry Potter Fics





	Shop of Needs

**Author's Note:**

> So I wrote this not long after I saw that Araciel had given up on their HPxKHR crossover stories. I was sad and disheartened after that and I'm still sad now but it happens. This isn't gonna go much of anywhere but I just wanted to get a xover out in commiseration. Raise your hands and cry with me. 
> 
> Happy Thanksgiving, everybody!

Harry Potter. Boy-who-lived. Man-who-conquered. Head Auror. Husband. Godfather.

Master of Death.

The many titles he accumulated over the years fly out of the mouths of total strangers, speaking as if they know everything about him.

He doesn't want any of them.

Harry. Just…  _ Harry. _

Why can't anyone just want him for himself? 

Ginny doesn't love him, he's quite aware of the fact. He wishes he'd been aware of it before the wedding but he's working on it.

He loves Teddy with all his heart but the young toddler just wants to be amused and cared for at this point in his life.

The Ministry works him to the bone, sending him off and around, practically showing him off to either inflate their egos or their wallets. They're working him to death with no care.

Harry is practically going mad with these new abilities of his, these new ideas and senses that he's developing. He curses the day he gathered those three Hallows. It's a secret that eats at him but he knows what would happen should he reveal it.

All but three of his friends have drifted away, and even then those three have lives of their own. He wouldn't ask them to give everything up for him now when they already did years ago.

He's done. They are driving him away and he's not fighting.

So he leaves.

_

Muggle Paris is a place unlikely to house the famed Harry Potter.

That's why he's there.

He is the proprietor of a completely muggle-friendly antique shop and bookstore. It's a simple two story building with living quarters on top and business on the bottom. The store is eclectic, with many comfy places to sit near towering bookshelves, filled mostly with older books. Antiques and oddities are scattered around, all for sale, aside from some of the chairs and shelves. 

Many things can be bought here for the right price.

Harry didn't really intend to become an independent information broker with connections to the underground but it sure brought some variety to his life. Some simple wards for deterring those with violent tendencies connected to the place as well as himself have certainly helped in staying independent. Not that those are the only wards, of course. 

Then one day it happens.

One day a baby enters his shop.

_

Harry tilts his head curiously, watching the baby and the swirls of dark magic encompassing his small form. The baby stares back.

Eventually he blinks and points to the strict "no weapons allowed" sign above a shelf filled with trays with a drop arrow posted above it.

The baby's eyes narrow and Harry just raises an eyebrow, continuing to point. He watches as the baby very deliberately only places one gun into the tray. He raises an eyebrow but makes no comment, returning to his newspaper. He's not the first to pull that trick and won't be the last. And he will find himself very confused if he tries to point those hidden weapons at Harry.

Harry continues to read his newspaper as the baby wanders around the store, seemingly just examining the merchandise. He smirks when he feels the rebound of the wards blocking all attempts of entry into the residential floor.

Ah, politics sure are a mess no matter where you are, he muses as he scans an article.

The baby is standing on the counter near him now, obviously wanting his attention. He finishes the article before folding up the paper and putting it aside. Leaning back in his comfy office chair, he examines the baby once more, waiting for him to speak.

"Who are you."

It was a question but not, more like a demand and he chuckles as the baby glares at him. The tiny hand twitches as if he's trying to not reach for a weapon. "I'm Harry."

"So you say."

"Yeah. Because it's my name."

Baby scowls.

"So, who are you?"

Baby scoffs. "I am Reborn. The world's greatest hitman. Why are you here."

Harry hums. "Hello, Reborn. I am here because I want to be."

Baby's scowl is back.

He smiles indulgently, “Are you looking for something in specific?”

He scowls harder. 

"Maybe something about curses?"

Reborn walks back in sullenly after having pulled a gun on him and being forcefully ejected, leaving him disoriented on the steps for a brief moment. He jumps back up on the counter and crosses his arms. "I see the rumors are true."

Harry hums noncommittally. 

"What do you know of the Arcobaleno." It's a demand again, not a question and Harry chuckles again. Reborn glares but doesn't draw his gun this time.

He's a fast learner.

"I hear many things about the Arcobaleno. Cursed to tiny bodies," he glances at the pacifier, "bound to an object that eats away at their flames and life force. Trapped until the inevitable end. But perhaps I can tell you something you don't know." Harry muses a moment, "How about this: you are not the first."

This gains the hitman's interest, "I figured that was a possibility. But what happens after our usefulness is used up?"

"Tell me, Reborn, have you ever met the Vendice?"

Reborn's gaze sharpens.

Harry taps a finger against his thigh and looks out to the street. "Hm. It is perhaps a fate worse than death, I imagine. But that's all I'll say on the subject, I think." He turns to Reborn to find him scowling again. "Oh please, I've given you plenty of information, and for free no less. You should be appreciative."

"I can tell there are a number of things you are not telling me."

"Of course. But Reborn," Harry's eyes glint, "I'm not sure you'd be willing to pay the price."

Reborn grits his teeth, "What do you want, money? Murder?"

Harry shakes his head. "Curses are tricky things, Mr. Hitman: subversive and malicious. There is always give and take in these sorts of situations and this is a very, very old curse." He stares straight into those large, black eyes. "There is nothing you can give that would be equivalent."

"Then there's no point?" Reborn doesn't put much inflection into the question but he can understand the helpless feeling. "There's no stopping it?"

"Hm, I never said that." Reborn looks at him sharply. "Perhaps someone will find a way to redirect it. To alter the curse." Harry shrugs, "It would be interesting to see, for sure."

Reborn leaves that day more frustrated than ever, stamping down on the tiny flicker of hope in his heart.

Harry watches him go and thinks of his friend Talbot. He's not so good at reading the threads of fate quite yet but he's getting there, and he can gather that this curse plays into something big. Something interesting.

He honestly hopes that he'll be there to witness the fateful day.


End file.
